St. Paul's QB McCarron commits to Alabama

by CaptStu on May 3, 2008 7:46 PM CDT

[editor's note, by Todd]
bumped from the diaires

From AL.com:

"Alabama secured his top 2009 quarterback target tonight when St. Paul's standout AJ McCarron announced his intentions to sign with the Crimson Tide during a gathering in Mobile.

The 6-foot-4 McCarron becomes the fourth commitment to Alabama's 2009 signing class. He has already been given a four-star rating (out of five) by Rivals, and is ranked in the Web site's national top 100.

Additionally, he is roundly considered to be the top senior quarterback in the state next year, and has been heavily recruited by a host of schools, including Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Miami and Oklahoma."

MORE HERE - http://blog.al.com/bamabeat/2008/05/st_pauls_qb_mccarron_commits_t.html

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Im

glad to see my home town putting out great players. Makes me miss home.

by bammer on May 3, 2008 10:20 PM CDT 0 recs

I know this...

...is terrible, but I'm super skeptical of Alabama QBs. Most of the ones we've signed lately are incredibly mediocre. I know JaMarcus was from Alabama, but he went to LSU. I have faith in Saban as a recruiter though. Here's hoping this kid (or Star) is the real deal.

Roll Tide!

by Nico2.0 on May 4, 2008 1:56 AM CDT 0 recs

saban is just that damn good....

I keep reading the Auburn blogs and seeing that Tubatuna gets all of these signees that no one ever heard of... Usually to great cheerleading from the beat reporter who is reporting it. McCarron is a proven commodity. And shows once again. Saban is the real deal....

tmc1

by tmc1 on May 4, 2008 6:56 AM CDT 0 recs

That interception

stat is the most impressive. He needs to start bulking up, though, for SEC toughness.

by bamavicki on May 4, 2008 8:16 AM CDT 0 recs

More Impressive

is at the :30 second mark, McCarron stands in the pocket steps into his pass as he is being hit and makes the completion, for me toughness is far more important than arm strength, because like it or not QB's in the SEC are gonna take a pounding.

by alextuscaloosa on May 4, 2008 11:26 AM CDT 0 recs

I am impressed

by the way he throws. In coaching, I watch a lot of film and you don't see many high school quarterbacks who can make the throws McCarron makes. Obviously a lot of these guys look good on their highlight reels, but McCarron is completing passes on a lot of the difficult routes. He isn't just beefing up his statistics with little screens and swings and straight deep passes like a lot of QBs. He throws to all areas of the field and he makes plays as the pocket breaks down.

His receivers are well-covered in some of those clips, too. I've watched footage of some of the highly touted guys and they're throwing to wide open receivers play after play.

Like I said, every player looks good in his reel, but McCarron seems to be doing some of the smaller things that show real potential for development. With Star Jackson, we could have a real nice QB situation during the next five or six years. We haven't had two talented QBs like this in a long, long time.

by Bamagrad on May 4, 2008 1:16 PM CDT 0 recs

Curious as to your take on this

I know he's going into his sr. season, and will obviously benefit from some additional playing and coaching, but there are two things that I fear RE: that TD/INT ratio. One, besides the scrambles, I only saw two instances where he checked down to secondary targets...he locked in on a guy and went there. SEC DB's aren't that naive (of course, with his touch, it didn't too much matter, eh?). The second, and probably the one that's harder to cure, is the slight clutch/pat he does before EVERY delivery. After about 2:00 of the vid, I caught it, and I promise that John Chavis or Willie Martinez are far smarter than I. How do you fix the mechanics of that, considering he's probably been throwing that way since he could hold a ball? Or, two, is it like Culpepper's "pat", that signals something physical like smallish hands?

by Stuck in the Plains on May 4, 2008 2:50 PM CDT up 0 recs

I think

high school offenses, even the multi-faceted attack which St. Paul's appears to run, are basically simplistic. A QB might only have two real targets and if the primary target isn't open, he'll check down.

I know what you mean about some of the technical deficiencies, but I wouldn't worry because most 16-year-old kids are going to look a little rough at this stuff. We're used to seeing college QBs and NFL QBs who have sound footwork and ball handling skills, but McCarron is still in high school and all we can hope is that he'll mature and progress. He seems to have the raw skills to have a chance to develop. Whether he does or not is up to him and his coaches at Bama. I'm sure they'll give proper attention to his mechanics and will try to correct any potential flaws. What McCarron has right now that is impressive is the raw skill to make throws and lead an offense. That alone makes him worth pursuing in my opinion.

None of these guys are really sure bets, but some are smart bets, if you know what I'm saying.

by Bamagrad on May 4, 2008 9:51 PM CDT 0 recs

The only

thing i saw that i didn't like was the all the shot gun formations. I saw a few times when he was under center. Not to say thats a big deal but being 4 yards away from the DL makes it a lot easier to make reads and make the right throw.

by bammer on May 5, 2008 6:43 AM CDT 0 recs